Download Understanding the mushroom industry and its marketing strategies

Economic and Technology Management Review,
8(2013):
– 37Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
MohdVol.
Tarmizi
Haimid,27
Hairazi
Understanding the mushroom industry and its marketing strategies
for fresh produce in Malaysia
(Memahami industri cendawan dan strategi pemasaran untuk produk segar
di Malaysia)
Mohd Tarmizi Haimid*, Hairazi Rahim* and Rozhan Abu Dardak*
Keywords: mushroom industry, marketing strategy, fresh produce
Abstract
Mushroom is a new and small industry in Malaysia. This industry, however,
is growing as one of the sources of food and a new source of wealth for
farmers. This study was carried out to understand the potential of this industry,
particularly the issues and challenges that could slow down its development from
the perspective of growers. A qualitative research paradigm was applied involving
15 people who were involved in this industry. Specifically, a focus group
discussion was used to gather information about their perception, expectation and
experience in cultivating and marketing fresh mushroom in Malaysia. This study
revealed that the three main issues of concern within this industry were related
to production, marketing and government policies and initiatives. The production
issues were related to managing the hot weather, supply of low quality seeds and
the increase in production cost. In general, the demand for oyster mushroom is
more than the quantity supplied by growers. Thus, there was no competition in
marketing the oyster mushroom, especially in the Klang Valley area. The higher
demand resulted in a higher price. The price of oyster mushroom is determined
by marketers. However, the marketers still need to strategize the marketing effort
by fulfilling the consumer needs and wants. This study also revealed that R&D
on the production system to overcome the environmental issue, introduction of
new seeds, training and subsidy on the production house are some initiatives
required from the government. The mushroom industry has the potential to be
developed due to higher demand from local and global consumers.
Introduction
Marketing agricultural product is considered
to be a very challenging and complex effort.
It involves moving of products from farmgate to retail consumers. It is a dynamic
process and involves a number of ownership
changes and economic activities such as
harvesting, processing, storage, transporting
and retailing. Furthermore, the marketing
of agriculture food products requires some
public rules such as grading and standards,
food-safety policies, market information and
future markets.
The marketing of agriculture food
products is very different from marketing of
agriculture commodities in general. Some
uniqueness of agriculture food products
is their short shelf life, non uniform size,
colour, physical shape and taste. The other
important distinguishing characteristic of
*Economic and Technology Management Research Centre, MARDI Headquarters, Serdang, P.O. Box 12301,
50774 Kuala Lumpur
E-mail: [email protected]
©Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute 2013
27
agriculture food products is the remoteness
of the farms from the final consumers. Thus,
these characteristics require special handling
treatments and marketing strategies.
Cultivated mushrooms are one of
the highest-valued crops in Malaysia. The
Malaysian government has categorized
mushroom as one of the seven high-value
crops that will be commercially grown.
The commodity will be grown intensively
with government supports. The land area
for mushroom cultivation will be increased
from 78 ha in 2010 to 340 ha in 2020.
The demand for mushrooms in local as
well as the world market is high and
increasing. This is reflected by the increase
in importation of fresh mushrooms from
80.9 million tonnes in 2007 to more than
90.8 million tonnes in 2008 (FAO 2009).
At the same time, the world demand for
fresh mushrooms is projected to grow 15%
a year due to the increase in population
and consumption. In the local markets,
the daily demand for fresh mushrooms is
around 50,000 kg while the supply is only
24,000 kg (MOA 2010). The consumption
per capita is projected to grow from 1.0 kg
in 2008 to 2.4 kg in 2020. As a result, the
total demand for mushrooms is projected to
increase from 23,000 tonnes/year (2008) to
72,000 tonnes/year (2020).
However, information about the
industry that includes the supply and
demand of product, consumer perception
and preferences towards fresh mushrooms
is still lacking. Not much data are available
for industry players and policy makers to
make strategic decisions on production and
marketing of fresh mushrooms in Malaysia.
Hence, this study was conducted to examine
the producers’ perspectives towards the
prospects of this industry, to understand
the issues and challenges faced by industry
players and identify marketing strategies for
mushrooms in Malaysia.
Mushroom industry
Mushroom is considered to be a new and
small industry in Malaysia. This industry,
28
however, is growing as one of the sources
of food and new source of wealth for
farmers. Mushroom is a fleshy, sporebearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically
produced aboveground on soil or on its
food source. Mushroom contains many
essential amino acids, some unsaturated
fatty acids; provides several vitamins such
as B, D, niacin and riboflavin, and is ranked
the highest among vegetables for protein
content. This commodity is suitable for fresh
consumption, pharmaceutical and cosmetic
products.
In 2008, the number of farmers and
companies involved in the cultivation of
mushrooms was more than 850. However,
the numbers have reduced dramatically
to less than half. At present, there are
around 320 farmers involved in the
cultivation of mushrooms in Peninsular
Malaysia (Table 1). Most of them are small
farmers who produce 50 – 500 kg of fresh
mushrooms a day.
More than 300 farmers and companies
cultivated mushrooms in Peninsular
Malaysia, with a total production of
approximately 24,000 kg per day in 2012.
Of the total farmers and companies, only six
Table 1. Mushroom growers by state (2012)
State
Selangor
Johor
Kelantan
Negeri Sembilan
Pahang
Kedah
Pulau Pinang
Melaka
Perak
Terengganu
Perlis
Total
No. of
growers
Production
(kg/day)
318
23,806
48
67
22
30
50
˜9
13
16
30
29
4
7830
7800
4565
1036
550
455
390
360
345
265
210
Source: Department of Agriculture Malaysia
(2012)
Mohd Tarmizi Haimid, Hairazi Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
companies produce on a large scale of over
500 kg per day while around 60 companies
produce in moderate scale (50 – 500 kg
per day), and the remaining farmers are
considered small-scale growers. Small-scale
growers make up about 80% of the total
population of mushroom growers, medium
scale at 17% and big scale at around 3%.
Marketing strategies
Marketing strategy is how a company
reaches it marketing objectives, which
is where the company intends to be in
the future (Mercer 1999). The marketing
strategy outlines the way in which the
marketing mix is used to attract and satisfy
the target market and achieve the company’s
goals (Eveans and Berman 1997). There
are many factors that affect the marketing
strategy, such as the volatile of the economy,
versatile and changes of technology, the
socioeconomic and lifestyle changes and
political situation within a country. Thus, the
company has to consider these factors when
establishing their marketing strategies.
The marketing strategy involves many
activities such as planning, budgeting,
control of products, promotion, distribution
and pricing (Lindgren and Shimp 1996). In
these activities, the company has to analyse
the market opportunities that includes the
prospect customers in the market who need
the product, how to satisfy their needs, the
selection of target markets based on their
special requirements and how to position the
products for selected target markets.
The marketing strategy is a game
plan, by which marketing objectives will be
achieved through planning, budgeting and
controlling the following factors:
• Product – production of products that
suit the consumers want
• Price – the suitable and affordable prices
• Promotion (advertising) – getting the
product known
• Placement – where the product is sold.
The process of marketing strategy is how
a company uses these factors to reach
its consumers and achieve a competitive
advantage. These factors are crucial and will
lead to a successful business. The process
can be divided into three steps (Lindgren
and Shimp 1996). Firstly, the company has
to analyse the market opportunities from
consumers needs and wants. Secondly,
the selection of a target market that the
company has the competitive advantage.
Thirdly, penetrate the market that can
increase sales and market shares in the
existing markets.
Methodology
A qualitative research paradigm was used
to collect the data. This qualitative research
paradigm was used because of four reasons
(Gubrium and Holstein 1997): naturalism
(seeks to understand social reality in its
own term), ethnomethodology (seeks to
understand how social order is created
through talk and interaction), emotionalism
(concerns subjectivity and gaining access
to inside experience) and postmodernism
(emphasizes ‘method talk’). Specifically,
this study used focus group discussion.
The focus group discussion aims to collect
information and insights from a small
number of people who are involved on
the subject under study. The findings from
the focus group cannot be generalised
statistically, but it represents the general
information or insight that can be used for
further studies.
This focus group involved 15
participants, mostly from the industry,
government sector and NGOs (Mushroom
Association of Malaysia). The discussion
was moderated by a senior research officer
from MARDI. The main purpose of the
focus group discussion was to explore
the issues and challenges faced by the
mushroom industries that include farmers/
growers, NGOs, users, marketers and
the government. The issues included the
production, supply of seeds, rules and
regulations, government initiatives and
incentives, marketing and consumers
behaviour towards fresh mushrooms. The
29
discussion was divided into three sections:
the potential of the industry, the issues and
challenges in production and the strategies
for marketing the fresh mushrooms.
The moderator explained the
purpose of the focus group discussion and
highlighted the rules that the participants
should follow during the session. The
participation in the focus group discussion
was on a voluntary basis, where participants
can participate throughout or leave in the
middle of the session. They were also
informed that they had equal chances to
speak and there were no right or wrong
answers. They were encouraged to give
ideas and share their opinions without any
interference. The discussion was recorded
and then transcribed verbatim. The contents
of the discussion were analysed using the
NVIVO Software, where frequent contents
and key words were gathered to identify the
trend. In other words, under the qualitative
research paradigms, the findings of the study
is shaped by the content analysis (Pamela
and Susan 2008).
Results and discussion
Profile of respondents
The focus group discussion involved 15
respondents, where 11 of them were Malays,
3 Chinese and 1 Indian. Majority of the
respondents were growers, while 4 of them
represented an association and government
organisations. Most of the respondents have
been involved in the mushroom industry
for more than 15 years, and one of them
had cultivated mushrooms for more than
30 years. Two of the respondents have been
involved in the research and development of
mushrooms.
Cultivation of mushrooms
The statistical data represented by the
Department of Agriculture revealed that
the number of active mushroom growers in
Peninsular Malaysia had dropped from 488
in 2008 to only 318 entrepreneurs in 2012.
About 25% of the growers were not active
or cultivating mushrooms. However, it was
30
reported that some of them had the intention
to be active in the cultivation of mushrooms
due to the current higher demand and price
in the markets.
There were more than 17 varieties
of mushrooms can be cultivated in
Malaysia. However, only 7 varieties were
commercially cultivated, including white,
pink and grey oyster, abalone, ganoderma,
button, shiitake or black forest, monkey
head and cauliflower. Among these varieties,
grey oyster was the most popularly
cultivated and marketed in local markets.
Grey oyster was popular for household fresh
consumption, while shiitake and button were
for hotels and caterers. Oyster mushroom
was popular because it is easy to grow and
can be cultivated on low land, while shiitake
and button mushrooms are only suitable for
high land and in cold environments. In other
words, not many areas can be cultivated
with shiitake and button mushrooms. On
the other hand, Lin Zhi is also a highvalue mushroom. However, growers were
not interested to cultivate this mushroom
because of less demand from consumers.
This mushroom is mainly for pharmaceutical
products.
Grey oyster is becoming more popular
in the world market as it contains higher
nutritional value, and thus, will compete
with the button and shiitake oyster in future.
The focus group was asked the reasons on
why they cultivated grey oyster. Majority of
the respondents stated that they cultivated
grey oyster because it was easy to market,
there was a higher demand from consumers
and the supply was never sufficient even for
local areas such as the Klang Valley.
Cultivation of oyster mushroom was
a great source of income for entrepreneurs.
This is because not many growers were
involved and thus, less competition.
The other characteristic of this industry,
according to the respondents, was the price
of the products. The demand for fresh
oyster mushroom was generally high in
most local areas especially in the Klang
Valley. However, the demand for fresh
Mohd Tarmizi Haimid, Hairazi Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
oyster mushrooms was relatively lower
at the bordering states like Kedah, Perlis
and Kelantan because of competition from
Thailand’s mushroom. The higher demand
led to a higher price. Generally, the price
of oyster mushroom was determined by
the marketers. For example, one of the
respondents stated that:
“One day I sold a pack of 500 g grey oyster
for RM8. The next day, I sold the same
product for RM10. The other day I sold at
RM15 and my customers never questioned
me!” (Respondent No. 7)
This quote indicated that this industry is
driven by the marketer and less competition.
In other words, this industry offers great
opportunities for entrepreneurs to get into
the cultivation of oyster mushroom for local
as well as export markets. This industry
is a new source of wealth for farmers in
Malaysia.
Issues and challenges
Generally, there are many issues and
challenges faced by this industry due to its
newness and therefore given less attention
by the government. In general, mushroom
is not a new commodity. People have
consumed mushroom a long time ago, and
they have collected wild mushroom from
jungles and villages. At that time, mushroom
had no monetory value and were consumed
by people from the rural community. Only
in the recent days, when the cultivated
mushrooms were introduced to the markets,
the issues and challenges started to come
into sight.
The issues and challenges faced by
entrepreneurs are listed in Table 2. In
general, the issues and challenges can be
divided into three categories, i) production,
ii) marketing and iii) government initiatives.
The main issues and challenges of
the mushrooms industry were related to
production or cultivation and marketing of
mushrooms.
Production strategies
Production problem is the most important
issue that must be addressed and resolved
based on the findings of this focus group
study. Research and development (R&D)
is the driving force which can solve the
production problem that inhibits the
mushroom industry. Referring to the list of
issues and challenges related to production,
namely environmental stability, low quality
of input and credulous, costs and technical
standard procedure; the role of development
in research and policies to further develop
the mushroom industry cannot be denied.
Technically, the key aspect of running
the mushroom cultivation requires a
standard technical procedure. One of the
important aspects that needs attention is the
development of a standard mushroom house
that meets the criteria and maximizes the
production of mushrooms. This problem
is clearly expressed by the growers with
excerpts from the discussion that have
been carried out; “Improper mushroom
house coupled with the hot weather causes
the mushroom to dry or die. We need a
standard example of a mushroom house
that can solve related problems.” Thus,
the development of standard technical
procedures and related technologies are
desperately needed. Solving this problem
is closely linked with the development
needs of ongoing research. The relationship
between growers and researchers either from
government or private agencies is essential
for the development of this industry.
Mushroom seed problems also become
grievances among the growers, particularly
for the small and medium-scale ones. At
present, there are leading suppliers of largescale operators available which they can rely
on. The main issue is, there is no special
recognition and quality checks, particularly
from the relevant government agencies for
the production of these seeds. Although,
in principle, the supplier will produce the
best-quality seeds to keep their business
in operation, specific recognition from
government or private bodies would be able
31
Table 2. Issues and challenges faced by mushroom growers
Aspect
Issues and
challenges
Relevant quotations
i. Production
Environmental
suitability
Malaysia is a tropical country and is very suitable for
growing oyster mushrooms. So, we should focus on this
variety. Cultivation of shiitake and button mushrooms
requires cold environments, which is the main obstacle to
this variety. On the other hand, cultivation of mushrooms in
open hot weather can cause the media to dry and mushrooms
to die. So we must understand the issue of the environment
before embarking onto the cultivation of mushrooms
(Respondent No. 3).
Global warming affects the production and needs more
research in the production system (Respondent No. 4).
Input quality
(especially seeds)
Costs of
production
ii. Marketing
Competition with
products from
Thailand
At present, the main issue is the seeds. We have to depend
on private suppliers who sell it expensively, because the
seeds sold by the Department of Agriculture were usually
substantiated and of low quality (Respondent No. 4).
Sometimes the seeds are very good and grow good
mushrooms. Sometime they are very bad and never fertile at
all and I lost! (Respondent No. 7).
The University Malaya focused its research on the nutritional
and pharmaceutical values. We thought that the issue
of seeds should be the responsible of MARDI and the
Department of Agriculture. They should come out with a
new technique of breeding the seeds using tissue culture
(Respondent No. 9).
The cost of raw materials, especially saw dust is increasing
every year. Sometimes, we have to buy saw dust from as far
as Johor and have to pay a higher cost for transportation
(Respondent No. 7).
The competition to obtain saw dust is getting tougher. As a
result, the price is increasing. Previously the price of saw
dust was around RM300 for a 3 tonnes lorry, but now it has
increased to around RM550 (Respondent No. 13).
The price of input such as plastic bags, saw dust
and the salary of workers is increasing every year
(Respondent No. 12).
Production and processing costs are very low in countries
such as China and India compared to Malaysia. So we
are not able to compete with countries that produce
the processed mushrooms at low production cost
(Respondent No. 1).
Generally, there is no competition in the Klang Valley
because of few suppliers. However, the competition is
stronger in Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan, because of imported
mushrooms from Thailand (Respondent No. 6).
(cont.)
32
Mohd Tarmizi Haimid, Hairazi Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
Table 2. (cont.)
Aspect
Issues and
challenges
Relevant quotations
Price competition
from imported
mushrooms
The price of grey oyster mushroom in general is stable and
competitive in the Klang Valley. However, we cannot compete
with the price of mushroom from Thailand, which is cheaper
than that of the local one because they sell low quality
products (Respondent No 8).
Target area
promotion
New grower
iii. Government
policies and
initiatives
Cooperation
between related
agencies
Technical training
Government
incentives
Technology
Association strives to promote eating mushrooms to
consumers. In essence, the Klang Valley had no problems.
We have been working with the Department of Agriculture to
create a campaign and plan to focus on areas that are still
not marketed extensively (Respondent No. 8).
The issue of no market for oyster mushroom is very isolated
to new growers. They wanted to cultivate mushroom but are
very shy to market the product. They do not want to explore
the market (Respondent No. 4).
Agencies such as MARDI and Department of Agriculture
should work together closely. In some cases, they seem to
compete with each other, which is not good for the industry
(Respondent No. 5).
Mushroom is a very technical industry and must be managed
by a technical savvy person. Not all people can cultivate
mushrooms. Government must control this industry by
allowing people who have technical knowledge to operate
it, or this industry will collapse. People who want to
involve in this industry must get some technical training
(Respondent 3).
There are new growers involved in the cultivation of
mushrooms without attending relevant courses and training.
When there is a problem, they try to get advice from the
Department of Agriculture. It is too late because they are
already in financial difficulties (Respondent No. 14).
The government should control the number of growers and
continue to support the existing ones until they are very
strong. At the same time, the government cannot simply
offer any person who wants to be involved in the cultivation
of mushrooms because they will mess up the industry
(Respondent No. 5).
I suggest that the government give incentives like road
tax and toll exemption for companies that transport
agriculture produce, and tax exemption of raw materials
such as plastic bags. This will reduce the cost of production
(Respondent No. 3).
We are currently facing global warming. Thus, we need
close house systems that use air conditioning controls for the
internal environment. We hope MARDI and the Department
of Agriculture will set up a team of researchers to develop
this close house system (Respondent No. 8).
33
to set standards of quality seed production
of mushrooms. This recognition is a kind
of security and reduces the risk to small
operators. Furthermore, seeds produced by
the government agency, is shoddy and not
the preferred choice among producers.
Environmental stability is among the
root of many other problems affecting the
production of mushrooms. Environmental
factors are independent dimensions that
are very difficult to control, particularly
for those who work on agricultural
commodities. Technological developments
and research from time to time, however,
would be able to solve these problems.
Controlling the temperature and humidity,
and the amount of water are among the
things that can solve the problem in
production of mushrooms.
To solve the problems associated with
transportation costs, the direct strategy that
can be highlighted is the toll exemption
for agricultural commodities throughout
the country. The exemption directly saves
transportation costs and indirectly provides
an opportunity for operators to expand
the domestic market for their produce.
Government intervention is necessary for
the development of the mushroom industry.
Provision of incentives is one of the
effective economic tools. Apart from the
direct benefits to producers, incentives are
capable of attracting people to be involved
in this industry as long as other relevant
policies are in line with the purpose of the
incentives. Assistance from government
agencies in terms of effective training and
courses are also necessary. This can only
be realized if close cooperation could be
established between government agencies
in addressing the problems of producers.
The arrangement of a system for financial
support that is transparent, responsive and
efficient is also one of the dimensions that
could contribute to counter the producer’s
problems. Currently, the growers were
evidently not satisfied with the financial-aid
system of government agencies for there is
34
not much help, particularly to the small and
medium-sized growers
The strategies presented are the
responses to the constraints and problems
raised by producers. Overall, it can be
concluded that what is currently facing
many producers is closely associated with
production problems and not marketing. The
technology is still at its old notch, the inputs
for the production of poor quality and other
problems have been identified as the cause
of retardation of the development of industry
and unable even to meet domestic market
demands. Ongoing research is capable of
providing solutions and tonic to policy
development and the industry as a whole.
Strength of policy support that benefit the
producers directly will eventually give an
advantage to the consumers, as over time
the market for the industry will develop
stronger, organized and headed towards the
competitive market.
Marketing strategies
Products
Understanding a product preferred by
consumers is important to any business.
Generally, consumers prefer products
that are available and affordable. This
means, marketers focus on the superiority
of products and low-price to consumers.
Majority of respondents stated that grey
oyster was the most popular and preferred
mushroom by consumers in Malaysia.
However, different ethnic group looked
at the oyster mushroom’s physical
characteristic differently. For example,
Malay consumers preferred big and thick
head, and long body, while Chinese
consumers like small head and short body.
Thus, marketers need to offer different
products to different ethnic groups.
Price
In general, the demand for oyster
mushrooms is more than the quantity
supplied by growers. The demand for
fresh oyster mushroom was estimated
around 50,000 kg/day, while the growers
Mohd Tarmizi Haimid, Hairazi Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
were capable to supply only around
24,000 kg/ day. The higher demand resulted
in a higher price. The price of oyster
mushroom is determined by marketers.
The farm level price of oyster mushroom
was ranged from RM7 to RM10/kg, while
the retail price was between RM12 and
RM15/kg and most of the respondents
were satisfied with the price. This price
was considered affordable to consumers
and at the same time the growers sustained
their profit margin. Even though the
price is higher than that of the produce
from Thailand (RM3.50 – RM4.50/kg),
consumers prefer the local ones because of
their higher quality. Thus, the price of fresh
oyster mushroom should be in the range
that is agreed upon by both growers and
consumers.
Place of marketing
Oyster mushroom is marketed at
hypermarkets, supermarkets, wet markets,
night markets, farmers’ markets, wholesalers
and grocery stores. The higher demand for
mushrooms resulted in difficulty of supply
to these distribution channels. In other
words, the marketers were unable to supply
consistent products to these outlets. Most
of the respondents sell their products to
middlemen who come to their farms. Only
big companies sell directly to hypermarkets
and supermarkets. One of the respondents
stated that:
“If you want to market your mushrooms to
supermarkets and hypermarkets at Klang
Valley, the demand is higher during the
weekend such as Friday, Saturday and
Sunday because many consumers do their
shopping during these days. You can sell at
wet markets and night markets everyday”
(Respondent No. 1)
This particular quote implies that besides
knowing the place to market the fresh oyster
mushroom, marketers must also consider the
best time to sell their products.
Promotion
Generally, the demand for fresh mushrooms
is increasing every year due to increase in
population and consumption. People are
aware and recognize the nutritional content
and benefits of consuming mushrooms.
Special programmes and activities that
can encourage more people to use this
product will help to boost the industry.
This role can be played by government
agencies and NGOs that are involved in the
development of this industry. For example,
the Association of Mushroom Malaysia
organizes promotional activities that can
attract more people to use mushrooms. One
of the respondents stated that:
“We the association organize programmes
that can encourage more people to consume
mushrooms. The programme includes
distribution of recipes and how to cook
mushrooms healthily. The programme is in
collaboration with hypermarkets”.
This quote implies that promotion and
information dissemination are an important
effort that can help the marketers to
market fresh mushroom effectively. The
promotional and awareness programmes
must be carried out continuously and should
involve all parties in the supply chain of
mushrooms in the market.
Conclusion
This study was carried out basically to
explore the main issues and challenges faced
by mushroom growers and also to find out
the constraints in the mushroom industry in
general. Initial perception of the problem
that exists is expected to revolve around
things related to marketing. Nevertheless,
this study successfully revealed some
real problems and constraints faced by
mushroom growers. Based on the feedback
obtained, some general strategies have been
proposed to solve the problems. Producers’
perspectives would be very helpful in
managing the future options and policies
development.
35
The main constraints are found to
be related with the ability of growers to
meet local consumer demand. However,
the exact nature of the predicate upon
which the production process is inefficient
and does not have the capacity to produce
mushrooms in a large scale. Technological
backwardness, poor seed quality and
disputed, competition from neighbouring
countries, researches that are not
continuously done to solve the problems and
unfriendly policy development to producers
are the main contributors to the retardation
of the mushroom industry.
Solving the problems in an effective
and immediate response is needed. In line
with National Agri-food Policy, which was
formulated by the government, relevant
agencies and authorities should jointly
mobilize their efforts and formulating
policies at the grassroots level to help this
industry to continue to grow. The policies
should be directed at moving forward
technological enhancement by promoting
new investments in affordable mushrooms’
media and other technical aspects of this
industry, and assisting the marketing skills in
management. The R&D and training courses
provision can improve the mushroom
industry performance as these aspects are
the anchoring dimensions to establish the
efficient-commercialisation production cycle
and setting up the market right.
36
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Mohd Tarmizi Haimid, Hairazi Rahim and Rozhan Abu Dardak
Abstrak
Cendawan merupakan industri baru dan kecil di Malaysia. Walau bagaimanapun,
industri ini berkembang sebagai salah satu sumber makanan dan sumber
pendapatan baru kepada petani. Kajian ini telah dijalankan untuk memahami
potensi industri, khususnya berkaitan isu dan cabaran yang boleh menghalang
perkembangannya daripada perspektif pengeluar. Kajian ini menggunakan
paradigma penyelidikan kualitatif melibatkan 15 orang yang berkecimpung
dalam industri cendawan. Secara khususnya, perbincangan kumpulan fokus
telah digunakan untuk mengumpul maklumat berkenaan persepsi, jangkaan
dan pengalaman mereka dalam menanam dan memasarkan cendawan segar
di Malaysia. Kajian ini mendapati, terdapat tiga isu yang perlu diberi perhatian
iaitu pengeluaran, pemasaran dan polisi serta inisiatif kerajaan. Isu pengeluaran
berkisar kepada pengurusan cuaca yang semakin panas, bekalan biji benih
yang rendah kualitinya dan peningkatan kos pengeluaran. Secara umumnya,
permintaan terhadap cendawan tiram adalah lebih tinggi berbanding dengan
kuantiti yang dibekalkan oleh pengeluar. Oleh itu, tiada persaingan dalam
pemasaran cendawan tiram terutamanya di kawasan Lembah Klang. Permintaan
tinggi menyebabkan harga pasaran juga tinggi. Harga cendawan tiram ditentukan
oleh pemasar. Walau bagaimanapun, pemasar masih lagi perlu merancang strategi
pemasaran bagi memenuhi permintaan dan keperluan pengguna. Kajian ini juga
mendapati bahawa penyelidikan dan pembangunan (P&P) berkaitan dengan
sistem pengeluaran yang dapat menangani isu alam sekitar, pengenalan kepada
biji benih yang baru, latihan dan subsidi bagi pembangunan rumah pengeluaran
adalah antara insentif yang diperlukan daripada pihak kerajaan. Kesimpulannya,
industri cendawan mempunyai potensi untuk dikembangkan berikutan permintaan
yang tinggi daripada pengguna tempatan dan global.
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